"You could say that," replied Andorra, her hair still looking a bit dishevelled and the undersides of her eyes rather puffy. "I would prefer 'awful nightmare', but to each his own." She smiled ruefully and explained her dream to Lenatha.

"The thing is, a word--a scientific term--came to me in the course of the nightmare, and I decided I'd look it up on the holonet and see if I found any results. I haven't so far, but the word is VIVINECROSIS: 'living death'. Have you ever heard of it, or studied any cases at the medical facility?" Andorra looked doubtful. "I don't suppose you have, but if so, is there any cure or treatment for it?" A sudden, chilling thought occurred to her. "How long might its victims last?"